JANE'S POV
“When is she gonna be okay, Doc? It had been months…”
“Fortunately, Mrs. Jane Moore’s vitals are okay now. In the meantime, she needs to stay in bed. The intense impact of the collision damaged her legs.”
“Can she still walk?”
“She must undergo therapy to be able to walk again. Don’t worry, Madame. The chances of her full recovery are high. We just need to be a little patient.”
Monitor beeps and muffled voices were the first sound to register in my ear. Sluggishly, my heavy eyelids started opening. Crystal white coffered ceiling was my first initial sight. I had a glimpse of people in my peripheral vision, and they seemed to be conversing about me. The immobility of my neck made it hard for me to know who they were.
“A-Aah…” I tried to make a sound but even my throat started hurting. The word came out so raspy as if I hadn’t tasted water for weeks. What happened to me?
“Oh my goodness, Doc! She’s awake!” the woman near me exclaimed. There were sudden movements around me as if they weren’t expecting my sudden awakening. My eyes finally captured the doctor’s face when he started checking my body. The door of the room then barged open, and if I wasn’t mistaken, two nurses entered the place.
I was so befuddled. Who are these people?
“Jane, what are you feeling? Can you start moving any parts of your body?” the doctor asked. I tried to do what he asked, but I could only move my arm and torso. It even hurt to look at my side.
“I-I can’t move my l-legs…” I muttered, my voice hoarse. I gulped hard in hopes of wetting my throat but even swallowing started to hurt. What the hell happened to me and I am currently in this state?
“I see. Do you feel any pain in any part of your body?”
“M-My neck… hurts. M-My throat hurts…”
The doctor nodded calmly. He then stepped backward and gave the woman behind her a space to see me. My forehead knotted, unable to recognize who the woman was.
“Jane…” she called, her voice almost a whisper. The woman had a long curly blonde hair. She wore an emerald green coat made for the winter season. It matched perfectly with her black trouser pants. She looked familiar, but I could not remember where I had seen her.
“Who are you?” I inquired, my brows furrowed. I could not remember having a friend. Her siren eyes widened in astonishment, pure confusion could be seen from within.
“Y-You don’t remember me?”
What does she mean? Would I ask if I know?
“I don’t know you. Where am I? Where’s my husband? Where’s my father?”
The unfamiliar woman cleared her throat and stared at me worriedly. She then shifted her gaze to the doctor, who was currently looking at me with a strange look.
“Do you remember Gray?”
“Of course, he’s my husband. We just celebrated our first wedding anniversary last week. How can I forget him?”
“Oh my gosh!” she gasped, her hand reaching to cover her mouth. Irritation started to crawl all over my chest. Questions kept arising in my mind, and none of them could find their answers. My face tightened as I looked at the woman in front of me.
“What the hell is happening, huh? Where’s Dad? Where’s my husband? Where am I? Who are these people? Who are you? Please, answer me! I am starting to go crazy here!” I panicked. I attempted to move my legs again, but it seemed like I became paralyzed. Tears started pooling in my eyes. I was so confused. Who the hell knows if these people kidnapped me? Is my dad even looking for me?
“Jane, calm down. Calm down, okay?”
“No! How can I come down if I don’t f*cking know what the f*ck is happening here? Where’s my father? Gray? Where is he? I swear, all of you will pay for this!”
“Jane, calm down! Your father is dead! Don’t you remember? He died due to an ambush that happened months ago! You got into an accident and lost your baby the night your husband divorced you!”
Dead? Husband? Baby? Divorced? What does she mean?
Bursts of pain panged my temple one after another. My hands reached for my head in wish of stopping it, but the more I touched it, the pain was becoming more intense. The people around me started to panic, all of them trying to cease my struggles.
“Ah!” I groaned out of distress. Memories started to flash in my mind like a film, most of them distorted and incomplete. I bit my lip as tears slid down my cheek. Closing my eyes tightly, I knew I would lose consciousness anytime.
*****
“How do you feel?” Kelly inquired, handing me a glass of water. My gaze was pierced at the cream wall, my hand not moving to accept her offer.
“Tell me what happened to my father. Tell me what happened to me and my husband,” I commanded indifferently. Kelly halted. She then placed the glass on the bedside table, sighing.
“I can’t tell you right now—”
“Tell me. I don’t care about the triggers. I don’t care how much pain I would have to suffer in exchange for information about my life…”
Kelly took a deep breath. Nodding, she cleared her throat and sat beside me.
“Your father died in an ambush, and we’re still investigating to know who killed him. You have been married to Gray Moore for three years now.”
Three years? I could only remember being married to Gray for a year. He didn’t even remember that it was our anniversary last week.
“That guy never treated you right, Jane. He cheated on you with his secretary, Hazel. Just right after they kicked you out of your house, a car bumped into you. You were three weeks pregnant when that happened, and that accident made you lose your baby. You have been in a coma for five months now, Jane. You only woke up today… and with amnesia," Kelly explained, her tone full of worry.
Gray cheated on me with... Hazel? But I had a baby… Gray and I had a freaking baby! How could he cheat on me when I was pregnant with his child?
“Our investigators also found evidence that one of your husband’s relatives was the one who hit you with their car…” she added, making me look at her once more.
“W-What?”
“The night the accident happened and we found you on the street, we saw the owner of the car stop and enter Moore’s residence. We didn’t see who the person was, but we are sure that the person indeed was at your husband’s mansion…”
My heart crumbled in sorrow. Every word was striking my chest badly. I held my stomach gently, my heart breaking at the thought of losing someone I had never met. Growing up as an only child, I had only dreamed of having a complete family. I was so close to having it, but I lost my child because of them. They wanted to get rid of me so badly that my child lost her life. I clenched my fist in rage, pouring my anger on the soft mattress beneath me.
"What about you? Who are you? I don’t remember anything about you. You only told me your name. Kelly…” I muttered amidst the flame inside me.
No matter how much I wanted to get up and ruthlessly kill the people who did this to us, I still felt so weak and useless. Funny how I wanted to plot for revenge when I could not even move my legs. Bull*hit.
“I am Kelly Ambers…”
Weakly, I shifted my gaze to her, my left brow raising.
“I am your sister…”
My eyes instantly narrowed. Is she fucking with me? For goodness sake! How long is this going to take? Even without amnesia, I knew I didn’t have a sister. There were only two of us in our family. It was only me and my father. Where the hell did she come from? I didn't know who to believe now!
“Jane, I know you’re still confused right now. But as much as I want you to rest and avoid stressing out, I know your mind will not make you have a peaceful night not knowing who I am…”
Even though multiple questions kept popping into my mind, I let her continue.
“You don’t know me all your life because your father never introduced our mother to you. Your mom and dad got divorced when you were still a baby, and that was when our mom met my dad and had us, your siblings. We never met because your father and our mom ended up not on good terms. But even so, our mom never stopped talking about you.”
Siblings? So, there’s more? I grew up believing that I was an only child.
“Why are you here then? Because my father is already dead and you already have the chance to be with me? Do you think it would be that easy? You’re probably out of your mind…” I responded, rolling my eyes.
I didn’t have any assurances about who to believe, but since she was the only person I could rely on right now, this was much better than having no idea what the f*ck happened to me.
“I am here because we never stopped caring about you even after you got married to Gray Moore. Your marriage was absolute trash, but you stayed for three years. He abused and never cared for you…”
“I don’t need anyone’s help…”
Kelly chuckled mockingly. Even though she didn’t say anything, her laugh just told me in different ways that she found my statement absurd.
“Of course, you do. And there’s no way our mom would let you face this alone. And what can you do, Jane? The Moore family took all your properties and money. You don’t have anything left. I know your heart seeks revenge. We are here to help you with that, okay? But now, you must recover first…”
Kelly started assisting me to lay down, her hands reaching for the duvet to cover me. I made no protest, as I knew everything she said was right. My heart was craving for vengeance. I needed to get back on my feet stronger. And once I did, I would make sure that they would taste every bit of my anger. I would not stop until I burned their empire to ashes.
JANE'S POV— 2 years later —“We successfully bought Mrs. Baker’s share. Right now, we are one of Moore Estate’s major shareholders…” Miranda, my secretary, announced. Hearing that, a sly smile erupted from my lips, satisfied that everything was going according to plan.Well, well. What a good news to start this month. I wasn’t wrong when I asked my siblings to go back to Texas weeks before the Moore Estate’s anniversary. As one of the major shareholders, we would be invited, to be sure. “I can’t believe that Mrs. Baker would sell her husband’s share right after he passed. Poor woman. She probably doesn’t know how the business world works…” Kaihly, Kelly’s twin, remarked, her head resting on my shoulder. “It’s just perfect, alright? I mean, so sad that he died but duh? We got the shares! Jane finally has access to that company!” Kelly responded, clapping her hands for me. I did not comment. I had been waiting for this. I made sure that I would get access to that family's assets once
GRAY’S POV“A pleasant evening, everyone. It is an honor to stand in front of you today. To be honest, I didn’t expect this company to be this grand. I am a little pressured…”The guests who were unfamiliar with Jane laughed and cheered for her, while the others who knew my deceased wife, remained clueless about what was happening. My muscles were tensed, and my eyes could not leave the woman’s presence.“What kind of nonsense is this?! Why is that woman on the stage? Is this a joke? Mom! Do something about this!”Aerah was the first to react. Her sudden burst out took the attention of the guests that were previously drawn by Jane. Aerah’s reaction broke the ice that stiffened me in my seat. Damn, Aerah. This was not the time to be a fucking brat!“Aerah, sit down!” I ordered, my voice almost a whisper. She looked at me incredulously, her mouth slightly parted. She stood up, scoffing, making her the center of attention. Even Jane, who looked at her like she was a scandalous stranger
SERENA’S POV“Oh, your son’s here, Madame Geraldine. Since you’re acting like nothing’s happening here, do you want me to initiate and tell him about the accusations you’re throwing at me?” I offered, blatantly displaying a fake smile. The old woman’s eyes squinted, her lips turning flat. I turned my gaze on Gray, and just like how he looked at me the moment I showed myself on stage, his eyes were filled with confusion and mystery.“You’re so quiet… I don’t like it.”His silence reminded me of the days when I badly wanted to spend time with him, but I would always get nothing. Hearing that, Gray cleared his throat, swallowing.“I deeply apologize for all the troubles happening right now, Ms. Ambers—”“Don’t be. I am already disappointed. Given how wonderful this party looked, I never expected such treatment like this. If you want to redeem yourself, I suggest to stop trying tonight. Everything’s still fresh—”“Oh, shut up! Don’t even try to act so high and mighty, Jane Williams. We al
SERENA’S POV“Where’s Kelly now? Did she send us an update?” I tried to remain calm as I sat on the couch. I was still wearing the dress that I wore at the party, and even though it had already been an hour since I came home, I felt like I did not have the time to change. I was too preoccupied with what Kelly said.What does she mean that we have a problem? Did Aerah know about her already? It had only been a night, dammit!“Calm down, Jane. You know Kelly’s a good liar, right? She had been doing this for years. And besides, that girl Aerah trusted her so much that she won’t bother suspecting her…” Kaihly, Kelly’s twin stated, watching me silently panicked. She sat comfortably in front of me, her arm crossing against her chest. She knew what was happening. She even saw how Aerah made a scene at that party. I did not have an idea that my sister hacked the surveillance camera in that hotel to watch me get embarrassed by that filthy family.“She said that we have a problem, Kaihly. Wha
SERENA’S POV “Aerah Celine…” Gray called in a warning tone. The corner of my lips turned up, satisfied when I saw Aerah’s glare at her younger brother. Gray then cleared his throat as he fixed his position on his seat.“Well, all of you already know what this meeting is all about. Yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of Moore Estates, and unfortunately, a few misunderstandings happened that ruined the party…” Gray started. Almost everybody eyed me, then shifted their gazes on Aerah, who never looked away from me since I entered this room.“A complaint was sent to my office against the new member of the board, which is Ms. Serena Ambers…”I knew it. This was what Kelly told me last night. I was sure, Aerah and Geraldine were the ones who plotted this. And if I was judging right, Gray agreed with what they were planning, too.“With all due respect, Mr. Moore. I don’t understand. A complaint was raised against Ms. Ambers? Wasn’t she the one who was embarrassed by your sister last nigh
GRAY’S POV“What?” I muttered under my breath. Aerah laughed sarcastically. “You think I’m a fool, my younger brother? Why do you keep defending that woman, by the way? She resembles your wife almost perfectly. Is that the reason why?” With my forehead knotted, my brow almost met as I shot my sister dagger looks. “You are out of your mind, Aerah. Will you please just let me run this company properly? Even if Ms. Ambers is Jane or not, we cannot deny that she really put fortune and even helped the company’s growth! We can’t just kick her out!” “Ah, so you’ll let that bitch wander around our place as if she didn’t have a past with us? With you? My dear brother, are you really becoming a fool?” Oh, damn. Can she not understand me? She seemed to forget how the board reacted when Ms. Ambers said she would pull out her shares. With her influence, our investors might pull out their shares, too. “We can investigate about Ms. Ambers to know who she really is. I-I am sure your family is p
KELLY'S POV All of us turned our eyes towards Gray's secretary. I was confident that we had hidden Jane's identity excellently, but hearing Hazel say that she found something about my sister made my heart drum bizarrely. “You found out something? Didn't we just talk about investigating her this afternoon? How can you find something about her that fast?”Aerah questioned, raising her brow. What the hell does she know about my sister? “Didn't I tell you to get out of our family matters, Ms. Brown? In which part of what I told you was unclear?”Gray eyed his secretary with pure judgment. I knew where was this going. I had heard that Geraldine Moore favored this girl so much that even if Gray was the one who was talking, that old hag would defend this woman. “Let her, son. At least we already have information about that strange woman...”As I was expected. Geraldine would favor this girl with her life.“I already started knowing who she was even before I suggested it. I have known Ms.
SERENA’S POV“She will fucking stay here?! Oh, come on, Gray! How come you’d let that whore work here?! I cannot believe you!”My arms were crossed against my chest as I listened to the noise inside my ex-husband’s office. Miranda was beside me as we waited for Aerah to come out so we could come inside.“She hates you so bad, Ms. Ambers…” Miranda commented, her mouth slightly parted. I let out a chuckle and shook my head. Gray called for a meeting this morning to announce my stay in the Moore Estates. Since Mr. Baker, the former vice president of the company was already dead and his shares were now successfully transferred to me, the board had decided for me to take over his position, too.Aerah wasn’t part of the board members, but news flocked really fast and when she heard about my position in the company, her mind went haywire and now she was in Gray’s office, disturbing his dearest brother.“Can’t you understand that that woman’s dangerous?! Who knows if she’s planning something
SERENA’S POVIt was so stupid of me to even try standing up and turning my back on him. The ache in my chest was pushing all my stupidity to keep going and leave this man. I didn’t know where to go and how would I come back, but I kept on walking away even though I was screaming inside because of pain.I did not want to be with him right now.I had the advantage when I was walking away as Gray seemed to be not in his right thinking right now. He had only called my name, but the words I said seemed to strike him so much that he couldn’t even move to follow me.I started running away even though the sharp wood that was attached to my leg was stabbing me in every step I took. I couldn’t find the way out of this mess, but I was lucky enough that I didn’t hear his footsteps near me.“Damn it,” I whispered as I held on to my knee to support my body. I was gasping for air as I stopped and looked behind me, relieved that I was all alone on my way back.“How stupid can you be to let yourself b
SERENA’S POV How did he get here? I believed he was also busy looking for the treasure that we had to find. Why did he even come here? I meant, it wasn’t like I did not want someone to find me, but I was expecting Landon or the other employees to find me!“Fuck, what happened?” He ran toward me in haste the moment his eyes landed on my bloody legs. It already felt numb, so I did not notice that he was referring to it immediately. I did not speak, instead, I just watched him worry about me while my mind started roaming around what had happened today. I never spotted Gray talking to Hazel, not even just for once ever since this day started, but seeing that woman follow him around like a dog just fucking made my chest abnormally in pain. I was slowly regaining my memories day by day, and I felt like I was close to the part where both of them would betray me. And no matter how much I wanted to learn the truth, every memory that I would remember just made my heart ache even harder. I re
GRAY’S POVI could not take my eyes off my wife when I saw her walking toward the seashore wearing only nothing but a two-piece. The last time I saw her wearing one was years ago, and we weren’t really close at that time.“Stop being a creep, man. You’re staring at her too much.”I blinked twice to pull myself together. Perhaps I might be looking like a creep right now as I continued admiring my wife even if I was meters away from her. How could I not? She was so gorgeous and I was sure I wasn’t the only one appreciating her beauty.They had been walking around the beach together with her secretary and her other friends, taking pictures together like there was no tomorrow. I didn’t follow her, of course. I wanted her to enjoy this vacation with little to no interruption of her activities.“Too bad you won’t be seeing her be a sporty woman today, man. Why did you even ask them to move the schedule for the beach volleyball? It would be lit,” Marco inquired with curiosity, watching my wi
AERAH’S POV “Did you see that, Mom? What the hell is going on between them? I thought Gray was avoiding that woman already? What is happening, and why has your son been clinging to that woman since this morning? He didn’t even stay in our cottage when we ate breakfast…” I eyed the two of them as they walked away from the crowd. Couldn’t my brother think properly? He knew that we hated that woman, yet he was still doing this shit and kept neglecting what we were telling him. The person that I paid to spy on him told me that my brother was rarely with Serena, and seeing how he was acting right now just made me think that the bastard was lying to me. “Are they in a relationship now, Mrs. Moore? Gray is so unbothered with our presence. He hasn’t talked to me since we came here. What do I do, Mrs. Moore? Huh?” Hazel inquired, her voice slightly shaking for an I did not know reason. Is she threatened that Serena Ambers, who shared the same face as Gray’s ex-wife, was probably going out w
SERENA’S POVSince we could not waste time, we only did a few hours of resting before proceeding to the activities that were prepared for today. I guessed this was what Landon was telling me a while ago.All of us changed into the shirts that were provided for each team. Our team wore pink shirts, while Gray and his team wore white. I couldn’t imagine how dirty it would be after all the games that we were about to play.“Catch the duck for the first game? You wouldn’t force me to play that, Miranda. Over my dead body,” I whispered as I listened to the host announce the first activity. I would rather stay in our room the whole day than have myself roll on the sand trying to catch a duck while blindfolded. “It is for men only. We are not allowed to join yet, so it would be Landon, Caden, and the other men in our team as well. We’re just gonna sit here to support them…”I felt relief in my chest as I heard the words. The hosts started reading the mechanics. If I understood it right, eac
SERENA’S POVThe day of our team-building finally came, and I had to wear the matching outfit that Landon and Caden had planned for the four of us. Miranda and I both wore beach dresses, while the two men wore white polo and above-the-knee shorts. Any people who would see us would guess that we were going to the beach. “Where can we park? The buses are blocking our way,” Landon stated as he stopped the vehicle at the entrance of the private beach that the company rented. This beach was huge, and as far as I could remember, Gray spent a fortune on this just so the employees could experience something good and luxurious while we were here. “Can we go inside now and leave you guys here? I need to go to the bathroom,” Miranda spoke beside me, which made me alarmed and forget the nice view outside. I had forgotten that Landon almost made the car fly just so we could get here faster. Miranda’s stomach wasn’t feeling well, and I was afraid that she was about to let it all out here. “We’re
SERENA’S POV I did not know what kind of hypnotism these three did to me, but I found myself in a fancy restaurant, sitting at the same table as them instead of being in my car while my driver drove us home. Oh my goodness, is this even safe? How sure am I that these people wouldn’t harm me right now? They were Gray’s friends, after all. I just hoped my bodyguards were watching me even from afar. “Our little reunion seemed to be nice. It has been a long time since we last you, Jane. All of us thought that you were already gone…” Kole started, clearing his throat as the server gave us all the food that we ordered. I only ordered one meal, but the three of them seemed to want to have a feast I felt like they only ordered so much so that we could spend a longer time here. Damn it. Do they think that they would be able to stop me once I wanted to leave them alone here? No. I could pay for all this food without eating it. Why am I even here?“You did not check enough if the body you f
SERENA’S POV I had been thinking about it for days. What the hell does he mean that he never wanted me gone? Is he fucking fooling me just because he recently learned that I was his ex-wife? He wouldn’t be able to get my trust back with his lies. “Aren’t you gonna invite me to the team building, huh?” I had to stop daydreaming about my ex-husband when Kelly showed herself in front of me. I had almost forgotten that we lived in the same house and I was currently staying in the living room, waiting for my driver to arrive. It was Sunday, so this day meant a free day for me. I decided to take the chance to go shopping since the company’s so-called team building was nearing. I heard that this was the most awaited out-of-town event for all of the Moore Estates employees. I did not know why, but I kept hearing that it was going to be fun. Even Miranda was as excited as the others—unlike me. This was my first time attending one but I had done some research about it. Perhaps I wouldn’t lo
GRAY’S POVShe just left me standing under the scorching sun. Right after I said that I never wanted her gone, she only looked at me before turning to go to the car waiting for them.She didn’t even say or ask anything. She left me as if she didn’t care about what I just said.I had no reason to stay at the site anymore, so I went to where my car was and drove away. I didn’t follow them, but I had no plans of staying where my mother and sister were. Kole and Marco texted me their location just a few minutes ago, so I might as well go to their place. It was a sunny afternoon, so I knew that there wouldn’t be a party, girls, party lights, and music while I stayed with them. It was just perfect. Perfect to tell them about another encounter with my wife.I had told them about her identity already, and just like me, they were fucking shook as well. They didn’t even want to believe me at first, but I was Gray Moore, a man who didn’t like to joke around using my wife’s name so they did beli